Pfizer Vaccine Approval in NZ Under Scrutiny: A Retrospective Analysis

The government's enthusiastic promotion of the Pfizer vaccine approval in New Zealand overstated the strength of the clinical assessment despite significant gaps in the data.

Photo by Guido Hofmann on Unsplash

The Pfizer vaccine was granted provisional consent for use by New Zealand’s regulator, Medsafe on 3 February 2021. The development was immediately welcomed by then Prime Minister Ardern who stated, “Medsafe’s decision is the culmination of a rigorous assessment process over many months to ensure the Pfizer/BioNTech vac…